Chapter 289 – I Invite You to Chairman Park’s Party, Meow!

The 55th floor of the tower.

On the way to visit the Rabbit Couple, the founding members of the cave farm.

Kking! Kking!

Fenril, who had been sleeping well on Theo’s back even drooling, suddenly cried out.

“Why is Kkingkking-i suddenly doing this, meow?!”

Theo was flustered.

Ppiyot. Ppiyot.

[I don’t know. Let’s knock him out first.]

“Good idea, meow!”

Thump!

Theo hit the back of Fenril’s head, knocking him out.

Kking…

‘You bastards, I’m hungry…’

Fenril forcibly entered sleep mode.

Theo moved again, carrying the fainted Fenril on his back like that.

“Puhuhut. Is the Leader Rabbit here, meow?”

Theo asked Coco, looking at the huge carrot field.

Salute.

[Yes! Here resides the King Father, the father of the Black Rabbit!]

Coco replied to Theo’s question.

Father Rabbit was farming here with his wife and other children, growing carrots.

“Nyang? But why is Leader Rabbit farming when his son is the king, meow?”

Theo, whose daily life was playing and eating, asked in a voice of incomprehension.

“He said he felt more comfortable farming than living comfortably in the royal palace, so we escorted him here.”

“Puhuhut. That seems similar to Chairman Park, meow!”

Theo said, thinking of Se-jun who worked hard every day without resting for a single day. ‘I suddenly miss Chairman Park, meow!’

At that moment,

Squeak!

Squeak!

Squeak!

Squeak!

The rabbits rushed out and welcomed Theo after hearing his voice. Indeed, the rabbits had excellent hearing.

“Puhuhut. Nice to meet you guys, meow!”

Theo exchanged greetings with the rabbits.

And,

“You guys, come to Chairman Park’s party, meow!”

He invited them to Se-jun’s 1st anniversary survival party.

Squeak!

[Of course we must go!]

Squeak!

[Guys, pack your bags!]

Udadada.

At the Rabbit Couple’s words, the rabbits quickly scattered and prepared to leave.

“Now let’s find the Bull Demon King, meow!”

Salute.

[It is said that the Bull Demon King heard the news of the party and went up to the 99th floor of the tower.]

At Theo’s words, Coco informed him of the Bull Demon King’s location.

“Then do you know Elka’s location too, meow?”

Salute. Salute.

[Yes! Lord Elka is also currently moving to the 99th floor of the tower.]

“Puhuhut. Then Chairman Park’s errand is finished, meow! Ppiyot, let’s go to the 75th floor of the tower, meow!”

Ppiyot!

[Yes!]

From now on, Theo was planning to do work that Se-jun had not ordered.

***

Heup! Hm?

Waking up from sleep, Se-jun looked down at his empty lap.

“What? Has Vice Chairman Theo still not returned?”

Se-jun said in a worried voice. He had thought Theo would return by dawn at the latest…

“I have a bad feeling. This guy, Vice Chairman Theo, isn’t he causing trouble somewhere?”

Se-jun was not worried about Theo, but rather worried that Theo might cause trouble.

He stood up abruptly.

Scribble.

marked the date on the wall, starting the morning of the 364th day.

And,

Huh?!

In the eyes of Se-jun who came out of the house, Podori, who had grown incomparably huge, and the Ents who should have been in the western forest came into view.

Creak. Creak.

The Ents were walking slowly, surrounding Podori as if to protect him.

“Why are the Ents acting like that?”

[Hehe. I guess it’s because they think Podori will become a World Tree.]

At Se-jun’s question, Flamie, who was photosynthesizing outside, replied with a truly bright face. ‘Finally, Podori has become useful!’

But,

‘Sigh, how much must her heart ache when she looks at Podori?’

Se-jun thought that Flamie was pretending to be bright on purpose.

Flamie was also a World Tree candidate once, but she wasn’t anymore. Though she wasn’t in a different sense.

‘She is probably extremely envious in her heart, right?’

Stroke. Stroke.

Se-jun comforted Flamie by stroking her leaves, and

[Hehet. It feels good.]

Flamie just enjoyed Se-jun’s touch.

As Se-jun was stroking Flamie like that,

Bzz!

the sound of a poison honeybee’s wings came from nearby.

“Huh? What is it?”

Looking at where the sound was coming from,

Bzz!

[Lord Se-jun, good morning!]

Rub. Rub.

The Poison Honeybee Queen, a founding member of Se-jun’s cave farm, greeted him by rubbing her body against Se-jun’s face.

“Yeah. Good morning.”

The Poison Honeybee Queen had recently been designated as one of the successors of the Poison Honeybee Great Queen, receiving the knowledge of the Great Queen.

Bzz! Bzz!

[Lord Se-jun, try this! It’s royal jelly I made during today’s practice!]

The Poison Honeybee Queen put the black royal jelly she had made herself into Se-jun’s mouth.

Swaaaaa.

At the same time, the royal jelly melted like cotton candy in Se-jun’s mouth, emitting a floral fragrance.

At that moment,

…?!

Se-jun’s face stiffened.

‘This must have been made with honey, but why is it bitter?’

It was because a completely unexpected bitter taste was felt on his tongue.

Bzz?!

[It’s delicious, right?!]

Unaware of that, the Poison Honeybee Queen wore a look full of expectations in front of him.

He couldn’t spit on a smiling face, either.

“Yeah… it’s delicious.”

Se-jun forced a smile, lifting the corners of his mouth.

And,

[You consumed crudely made royal jelly.]

[All stats increased by 3.]

[You consumed a bitter-tasting medicine.]

[Talent: Good Medicine for Stamina is Bitter was activated.]

[Stamina increased by 3.]

the messages appeared.

‘Stamina increased by 3?!’

Thanks to that, Se-jun could tell that the black royal jelly he had eaten was considerably bitter.

Bzz! Bzz!

[Here is one more! Next time, I’ll make it more delicious for you!]

“Sure.”

‘Please do make it delicious.’ Se-jun swallowed his thoughts and accepted the black royal jelly given by the Poison Honeybee Queen.

Bzz!

[Then I’ll go rest for a bit!]

After the Poison Honeybee Queen entered her hive like that,

Munch. Munch.

Se-jun hurriedly ate the Blue Potential Kudzu Root to neutralize the bitterness in his mouth.

Once the bitterness in his mouth faded to some extent like that,

“I should go make food. Let’s go, Flamie.”

[Yes!]

Se-jun put Flamie on his shoulder and headed to the kitchen.

Log.

Kkueng!

[Dad, Cuengi is hungry!]

Cuengi, who woke up from sleep, entered the kitchen while patting his belly, and

“Wait a bit, eat this while you wait.”

Se-jun handed the black royal jelly to Cuengi. ‘Hehehe. Let’s see how you like it.’

But,

Block.

Cuengi blocked the black royal jelly with his front paw. He realized that the black royal jelly was bitter like a ghost.

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[Dad, Cuengi is sensitive because I’m hungry! I hate jokes!]

Cuengi said, making a deep frown. ‘How dare you play jokes with food?!’

“Ah… oh, sorry. I got it confused with this. Wait just a moment, I’ll cook for you quickly.”

Se-jun quickly took out another honey jelly and gave it to Cuengi, pretending to have made a mistake. It was terrible acting.

Kkueng…

Looking at Se-jun like that, Cuengi’s heart ached. ‘Cuengi was too serious… Dad is doing strange things because of Cuengi.’

‘Cuengi will help Dad!’

So, out of apology, he thought he should help Se-jun.

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[Cuengi will help Dad! Cuengi will lay out the utensils!]

“Oh?! Really?! It would be great if Cuengi helps!”

Se-jun was focused on Cuengi’s sudden offer to help, so he missed Cuengi’s polite tone.

Meeting an immature father, the child began to grow up on his own.

***

The 75th floor of the tower.

“Puhuhut. We have arrived, meow!”

Ppiyot? Ppiyot?

[Lord Theo, why are we here? Are we doing a gacha draw again?]

Ppiyot asked Theo.

“No, meow! We will distribute Chairman Park’s party invitation cards here, meow!”

Ppiyot? Ppiyot?

[Party invitation cards? Did we have such a thing?]

‘Puhuhut. We are going to make it now, meow!’

Theo replied, entering a general store, and

“Give me 1,000 sheets of paper, meow!”

bought 1,000 sheets of palm-sized paper from the general store owner.

“It is 1 Tower Coin for 1,000 sheets of paper.”

Although 1 Tower Coin was an amount of about 10 won to Theo,

“Give me a discount, meow!”

Theo bargained three times. ‘Chairman Park said we must bargain three times when buying things, meow!’

Theo unconditionally followed whatever Se-jun ordered without forgetting.

“Understood. Then, I’ll give it to you for 0.7 Tower Coins.”

Thanks to that, he was able to buy it 0.3 Tower Coins cheaper.

After buying the paper like that, Theo sat on the steps of the general store and

Stamp. Stamp.

began to stamp his paw prints on the paper.

Ppiyot?

[Lord Theo, is that the invitation?]

“Puhuhut. Yes, meow! Ppiyot, hand me these, meow!”

Ppiyot!

[Yes!]

When Theo had Ppiyot hand him the stamped papers to divide the work, the invitations were completed even faster.

A moment later,

“Puhuhut. The invitations are completed, meow!”

Theo completed 1,000 invitations and walked majestically to the center of the shopping street.

“Puhuhut. This spot is good, meow!”

Theo took a spot in the center of the street.

Hand.

“I invite you to Chairman Park’s party, meow!”

Theo distributed the invitations to passing pedestrians as if handing out flyers.

But,

Dodge. Dodge.

They bypassed the invitations Theo gave and just passed by.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Dodge. Dodge. Dodge.

“What, meow… why are they not accepting Chairman Park’s party invitation, meow?”

Just as Theo was frustrated because not a single being appeared to accept the invitation despite dozens of attempts,

“Lord Theo, what are you doing here?”

Mimir, a great merchant who was looking around the shopping street after finishing a transaction, discovered Theo.

“Mimir, long time no see, meow! I am offering Chairman Park’s 1st anniversary survival party invitation ticket…”

“Are you selling it?!!!”

“Nyang?! Y… Yes, meow!”

Startled by Mimir’s intense reaction, Theo, who was about to say ‘I was just distributing them for free, meow,’ quickly changed his words.

“Really?! Lord Theo, I want to buy the invitation ticket! How much is it?!”

At Theo’s reply, Mimir shouted in an excited voice.

To think I can attend a party hosted by the Great Black Dragon?! It is an honor for generations of my family!

“Puhuhut. It is 1 billion Tower Coins per sheet, meow!”

“Yes! I’ll buy 10 sheets!”

Mimir readily paid 10 billion Tower Coins and took 10 invitation cards.

The invitation that was being distributed for free until just now. Its value rose instantly to a 1 billion Tower Coin invitation in a flash.

And,

“What is the great merchant Mimir buying over there?”

“What is he buying?”

The surrounding beings began to gather, showing interest one by one.

“Huh?! What is it?”

“Let’s watch.”

That again drew the attention of passing pedestrians, and

“What’s happening?”

“They say they are selling party invitations?”

“I heard the great merchant Mimir just bought 10 invitation cards to the Great Black Dragon’s 1st anniversary party for 10 billion Tower Coins!”

“Really?!”

Rumors that a party invitation was required to attend the Great Black Dragon’s 1st anniversary party began to spread rapidly.

***

The western forest on the 99th floor of the tower.

Kkuhehehe. Kkueng!

[Hehehe. It’s a good thing for Dad!]

Dig.

While Cuengi was caring for the herbs in the kudzu field and searching for herbs to dig up for Se-jun,

Flap. Flap.

(Brother Cuengi, it’s an emergency!)

The Golden Bat hurriedly flew to Cuengi.

Kkueng?! Kkueng?!

[What is it? Is Dad in danger?!]

Cuengi hurriedly stood up.

(No, they say Se-jun is having a party in two days!)

The Golden Bat, who had eavesdropped on the conversation of the Black Minotaurs who arrived at the 99th floor of the tower, replied.

Kkueng?

[What party is it?]

(A party celebrating Se-jun’s 1st anniversary of survival.)

Se-jun had not told the two yet because he intended to keep it modest anyway.

But,

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[Then it’s an extremely important party! Cuengi must prepare a gift for Dad too!]

To Cuengi, Se-jun’s 1st anniversary of survival was not an event to be taken lightly. For an extremely weak Dad to have survived for a year, it was a huge miracle!

(What will you prepare?)

Kkueng! Kkueng!

[Cuengi has something in mind! Follow me!]

Dadada.

Cuengi spoke and began to run. He had felt it since a long time ago, but there were herbs he hadn’t dug up because they were on another floor.

Until now, Cuengi had not gone down the tower unless he was going to find Se-jun or was with Se-jun.

For the first time, Cuengi went down the tower even though Se-jun was on the 99th floor of the tower.